Snow Lands on Top (book 2)

  "What about a yellow theme?!....or....or a red one! I know how much you like red and white Coryo!" Tigris squealed as she placed pictures of wedding themes on the desk before her. Coriolanus sighed...he didn't understand the appeal of wedding planning, although he was content as long as Lucy Gray was happy. "Well...what do you think Lucy Gray?" Coriolanus asked, in an uncharacteristically nervous tone. Lucy Gray tilted her head and looked over at him from across the table. She knew something was wrong, his hair was slightly messed up, he had barely noticeable bags under his eyes and he kept tapping his fingers on the table in front of him. Most people might not see the subtle shift in Coriolanus's behaviour, but Lucy Gray certainly did. he had been like this for a few days now, which was starting to worry her. Especially since he wouldn't tell her what was wrong, and instead used excuses like, 'I'm tired' or 'New job stress'. 

 Lucy Gray cleared her throat and plastered on a warm smile to mask her uneasiness, "Oh I'm alright with anythin', just not black and white," Coriolanus nodded and glanced over at the images Tigris had provided before adding, "Roses would be nice though....white ones," he turns to look at Lucy Gray, wanting to make sure she was on board with his idea. "Oh, white roses? Sure, that sounds good to me...Although maybe we could also add some wildflowers?" she added hopefully. 

 Coriolanus nodded, he assumed she would ask for something like that, most likely some from out of the capital. "Of course, if that's what you want," he replied in a quiet warm tone. All he wanted was to make Lucy Gray happy, which was hard when he was a constant ball of anxiety. Coriolanus sighed and looked back at Tigris, who seemed to have picked up on the unmistakable tension floating around the room. Tigris smiled and cleared her throat, "Well maybe we should take a break, after all, we have the flowers decided on now."

 Coriolanus nods and stands up quickly. He needed a nap, he knew he couldn't keep running like this, and keep Lucy Gray happy at the same time, which was his main priority....other than being the President of course. "Coryo?" Lucy Gray said, her eyes following him as he speed walked out of the room and towards the hallway. She took a deep breath and stood up, she needed to figure out what has been wrong with him and she wouldn't take any of his bullshit excuses anymore. With a newfound determination, she strode out of the room and toward the hallway.